MarkeeMagazine.com » March/April 2012http://markeemagazine.com/wp
Thu, 26 Feb 2015 19:22:31 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.9.3Inside View: Xander™http://markeemagazine.com/wp/inside-view-xander/
http://markeemagazine.com/wp/inside-view-xander/#commentsFri, 09 Nov 2012 20:39:40 +0000http://markeemagazine.com/wp/?p=277“I joined East Pleasant from JWT and immediately started working on some programming for Madison Square Garden Network (MSG), including Emmy Award-winning NYC Soundtracks, a documentary-style show about subway musicians. Then I started to apply the TV aspects of production to the commercial work we were doing at East Pleasant, and it worked right off the bat.”

By Christine Bunish

Markee: You began your career doing production for MTV Networks and got into commercials through the production department at JWT where you ended up directing. Then you made the move to East Pleasant, which is known for its reality-based advertising work.Xander: “I joined East Pleasant from JWT and immediately started working on some programming for Madison Square Garden Network (MSG), including Emmy Award-winning NYC Soundtracks, a documentary-style show about subway musicians. Then I started to apply the TV aspects of production to the commercial work we were doing at East Pleasant, and it worked right off the bat.”

Markee: What are some of the tricks to working with real people in spots?Xander: “You have to treat people well and make them feel comfortable on set; if you do that you create the best situation for people to perform.
“The process of shooting digital also benefits real people. Digital is not as precious as film, so you can roll more takes and make sure people are really comfortable in front of the camera. We’re pretty camera agnostic right now and try to use the right tool for the job. In the last year, we’ve used Sony F3 and F1 cameras, Panasonic AF100, Canon 5D, RED, 16mm cameras and GoPros for POV shots and as a throwaway camera.”

Markee: Tell us about your second campaign from JWT for Royal Caribbean, “The Sea is Calling. Answer it Royally,” which had its broadcast debut during the Super Bowl.Xander: “We did a test for it last June, and JWT got a really nice reaction to it so we turned it into a full campaign. The concept features an actual Shellphone. People on the street answer a ringing conch shell and talk to the ‘Voice of the Sea,’ who asks them when they’re going to visit her again.

“We shot in New York City; Austin, Texas; Portland, Maine; and Chicago with real people. We did some street casting before we got into town, going to cafes and shopping areas to find people who could talk for a minute, who could emote and give them a time and place to come for the shoot. But they were given no prior direction; they didn’t know what was going to happen. The more preparation you give people the less genuine they will be. We left traffic open so people could walk through the shots, and the cameras were set pretty far off so it wasn’t a tense environment. People hardly noticed the camera pointing at the shell.”

Markee: What kind of technology was involved with the Shellphone?Xander: “We had a transmitter and receiver, a speaker and a ringer. We created this weird little phone out of plastic shaped like a shell – we couldn’t use a real shell because we discovered that it affects radio frequencies!

“The actor performing the Voice of the Sea was in a motor home off set with a monitor so she could see the people she was talking to. We couldn’t pre-record this. It was important for her to take on the personality of the sea and get a great response from people.”

Markee: What cameras did you choose?Xander: “We shot with three RED EPICs to allow us the opportunity to shoot HDRx, so we knew we could bring out details in highlights and shadows in post. We also knew we could roll as long as we had enough mags, so we could capture the right moment, line, smile, look – we’d be rolling for all that. On location we had DITs downloading and duplicating footage. It was a big job: Everything had to be redundant and there’s so much data pushing through. Then the drives went back to New York where our postproduction company did all the transcoding.”

Markee: East Pleasant has sister companies Pleasant Post and EP*Vision for motion graphics and design. How important are those companies for a continuity of vision on a spot like “The Sea is Calling?”Xander: “Agencies love having Pleasant Post here. What’s better than for production to move seamlessly to postproduction? There are cost benefits, too, and I feel more responsible through to the finishing. I know I’ll be working with someone I trust, in this case editor Will Znidaric.

“About 75 percent of East Pleasant’s work stays with Pleasant Post. We keep the companies separate, but a lot of agencies love the idea of one-stop shopping. And it’s always fun for us to keep a job in the ecosystem.”

]]>http://markeemagazine.com/wp/inside-view-xander/feed/0Making Commercials: Wireless Visionshttp://markeemagazine.com/wp/making-commercials-wireless-visions/
http://markeemagazine.com/wp/making-commercials-wireless-visions/#commentsFri, 09 Nov 2012 20:35:50 +0000http://markeemagazine.com/wp/?p=275CTIA–The Wireless Association recently released “Your Mind is a Wireless Place,” a 30- and 60-second commercial about how we use wireless technologies in our lives. The spot follows a day in the life of a man in a surrealistic wireless world, a place where symbols illustrate wireless technology in use.

]]>What if symbols of the interactions between you and your wireless devices appeared all around you?

By Michael Fickes

[Above Top] Absolute added blue birds throughout the spot to symbolize tweets the hero is receiving and sending.
[Above] In the spot, a CG Hemingway inside an e-reader joins the hero in a rowboat
courtesy of Flam

CTIA–The Wireless Association recently released “Your Mind is a Wireless Place,” a 30- and 60-second commercial about how we use wireless technologies in our lives. The spot follows a day in the life of a man in a surrealistic wireless world, a place where symbols illustrate wireless technology in use.

Absolute, a visual effects and computer graphics company based in London and New York, created the symbols with animation and VFX tools, including Maya, Flame and Nuke. The New York office handled the project, working closely with Director Brent Bonacorso of Rabbit, the production company with offices in New York and L.A. The agency, Washington, D.C.-based GMMB, imagined the concept.

“Our assignment was to make subtle references to the digital world, said Nathan Kane, Absolute’s creative director. “The more you watch the commercial the more connections you’ll make.”

The spot opens as the hero awakens one morning and hops out of bed. When his feet hit the floor, a 3D GPS map of a cityscape unfurls magically. The animation symbolizes the GPS capability inside the hero’s phone. Like the hero, it has awakened.
“We modeled the GPS map in Maya and gave it photo-real qualities with light and shadows,” said Kane. “The client wanted it to read as a real GPS map. We worked back and forth to satisfy both concerns.”

Dressed and on his way, the hero encounters a jazz band. He leans down to drop money into an open guitar case. A CG blue bird is perched on the case. Animated birds appear throughout, symbolizing tweets the hero is receiving and sending. The voiceover hints that the bird is a tweet: “A little bird told me about a band.”

The commercial’s most spectacular scene begins with another voiceover: “An old man shared some fish stories.”

You see the hero in the bow of a rowboat, with the sea surging up and down and a threatening sky on the horizon. At the stern sits a man with a heavyset body. His head is shaped like an e-reader, which shows an old photo of Ernest Hemingway. Remember The Old Man and the Sea? Hemingway’s photo cracks the slightest of smiles, thanks to Flame.

But the smile doesn’t last. A giant fish leaps out of the water, swallows the rowboat and its occupants whole and disappears in a massive splash back into the water. “We shot the two men in the boat against green-screen,” Kane says. “The fish, as well as the water and the sky, were computer graphics. The splash was technically difficult.”

Absolute used Naiad, from Stockholm-based Exotic Matter, to create the splash. “It’s a software tool designed to create water dynamics,” he said. “We composited the water and the splash into the scene with Flame. We also added real water splashes that we shot against black, which made it easier to key.”

For another scene, Absolute created a 3D animation of The Doodler, the main character in the smart phone game Doodle Jump. “In the game, The Doodler is 2D,” Kane said. “We worked with the character’s creator to get it right in 3D.”

In a charming scene, the hero and a female friend walk hand-in-hand through the city, sort of. Actually she is inside a Skype screen with Paris in the background. “We shot them walking on the street,” said Kane. “Then we rotoscoped her out, made a matte painting of a Paris background and composited her in. This was done in Flame — no CG.”

The next scene reprises the characters by showing them in picture frames – illustrating smartphone and web cam capabilities. Hemmingway and the hero appear on a dock with the fish – They have overcome.

Finally, at dinner the hero and all of the character-symbols relax and talk. With a smile, the hero looks around the table and blinks, causing the scene to freeze.

That’s the point: Wireless technology gives you more control over your world.

]]>http://markeemagazine.com/wp/making-commercials-wireless-visions/feed/0Making TV: Let There Be Lighthttp://markeemagazine.com/wp/making-tv-let-there-be-light/
http://markeemagazine.com/wp/making-tv-let-there-be-light/#commentsFri, 09 Nov 2012 20:32:01 +0000http://markeemagazine.com/wp/?p=273Body of Proof is a crime drama with a different look and feel. The stories are different because the main characters, medical examiners, are different. The path to solving the crime is different, too: The victim’s body reveals the clues that guide the police.

]]>The stories told by Body of Proof journey from the dark side back to the light.

By Michael Fickes

Cinematographer Patrick Cady on the set of ABC’s Body of Proof.ABC/RICHARD FOREMAN

Body of Proof is a crime drama with a different look and feel. The stories are different because the main characters, medical examiners, are different. The path to solving the crime is different, too: The victim’s body reveals the clues that guide the police.

The cameras, special effects and lighting combine to create a look that complements this kind of story. “It’s important to find a look that ties to the story,” says Patrick Cady, the cinematographer on Body of Proof. “Good movies have that kind of look, and today, television dramas have to compete with the movies that people can watch on cable.”

Shooting Style

“The look of our show quickly settled in,” continues Cady. “On the set, the camera is always moving on a dolly, following the actors. That’s an important part of the show’s feel.”

Cady shoots with an ARRI ALEXA camera, calling it the first HD camera he’s liked. For action sequences, he uses wearable GoPro HD cameras. He also uses a Canon still camera – the EOS 60D with 70-300mm f/4 to 5.6L IS USM lens.

He selected a Panavision lens package that includes Primo primes, 11:1 zooms and compact 19-90mm zooms.

“The 19-90mm is new,” Cady says. “We switched to it halfway through this season. We use it for handheld or Steadicam shots. Sometimes when you use a zoom, you wish you had time to change out primes. Not with this lens – it looks fantastic.”

Special Effects

Cop show autopsies often are sterile. In Body of Proof, however, the audience sees compound fractures with bones breaking through the skin, bullet holes, scrapes, bruises and other kinds of trauma. When Dr. Hunt makes an incision, blood will sometimes ooze from the cut. After an autopsy, the body will have an arc of stitches from the right clavicle to the left.

Ninety-five percent of these effects are done with make-up. “We have a great special effects team,” Cady says. “They create the stitching, scarring, scraping, bruising, bleeding and broken bones with make-up.”

Incisions need a tiny bit of post. “When we show a knife cutting into the skin, the blood is physical,” Cady says. “Post makes the knife appear to cut deeper into the body than it really does.”

It is gory, but it also offers what seems like a realistic picture of the victim of a brutal murder.

Lighting the Way

The show features two female leads – Dana Delany as Dr. Megan Hunt and Jeri Ryan as Dr. Kate Murphy. Cady puts in a lot of time working out lighting plans for each – he calls the lighting concept “beauty lighting.”

“We plan the lighting while scouting,” Cady says. “We schedule the time of day for the shoot so the sun can help. If that doesn’t work out, we light to make it seem like the sun is where we planned.”

The lighting for the lead characters plays into a lighting theme that adds to the show’s look and feel: The medical examiner’s work illuminates a dark and murky mystery.

The crime scenes are darkly lighted to communicate something about the fear felt by the victim, as well as the mystery that the medical examiners will illuminate. When Dana Delaney arrives at the scene as Dr. Hunt, Cady’s lighting concept for her brightens the scene.

The autopsy rooms – and most of the scenes in the medical examiner’s offices – are often brightly lighted because the work being done there is illuminating the mystery. Sometimes, the scene starts out dark and grows lighter.

Don’t misunderstand. The scenes aren’t extremely dark and then extremely bright. Cady does it subtly yet noticeably. “We do play with the light,” he says. “Clues often lead back to the scene of the crime where it’s dark. We light the lab brightly to contrast with the crime scene.”

Over the course of the show, the light from the lead characters and the lab illuminates the answer to the mystery.

]]>http://markeemagazine.com/wp/making-tv-let-there-be-light/feed/0From The Editor: Meet Me In Las Vegas*http://markeemagazine.com/wp/from-the-editor-meet-me-in-las-vegas/
http://markeemagazine.com/wp/from-the-editor-meet-me-in-las-vegas/#commentsFri, 09 Nov 2012 19:00:50 +0000http://markeemagazine.com/wp/?p=271If you’ve picked up this issue of Markee while attending the 2012 NAB Show, then allow me to welcome you to the show and to Las Vegas. I hope you’re as excited to be here as I am! Actually, this year marks my first as an attendee at NAB, having only stepped in as executive editor of this publication late last year.

If you’ve picked up this issue of Markee while attending the 2012 NAB Show, then allow me to welcome you to the show and to Las Vegas. I hope you’re as excited to be here as I am! Actually, this year marks my first as an attendee at NAB, having only stepped in as executive editor of this publication late last year.

Of course, this isn’t my first trade show as a magazine editor, or even the first time I’ve been to a trade show in Las Vegas. On the contrary, I’ve had the privilege of visiting “Sin City” several times. And each time, I’m reminded of the city’s colorful past and rich (in every sense of the term) history. From tiny railroad town to the construction of the Hoover Dam, from Howard Hughes and Elvis Presley to the city’s centennial in 2005, Las Vegas has come a long way. And it continues to evolve and find new ways to stay relevant.

In fact, to filmmakers and TV producers, Las Vegas – and many other parts of Nevada – always has been a significant source of material and a location with unlimited character. There have been at least 90 major motion pictures shot in the state – and who could forget CSI: Crime Scene Investigation? (You can find a complete list of movies made in the state on the Nevada Film Office’s website at www.nevadafilm.com.)

Speaking of Nevada as a location, Markee spoke with the Nevada Film Office as part of our Spotlight on the Southwest in this issue. Turn to page 28 to learn more about Nevada’s diversity of locations, as well as those of Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. As you know, this region has a spectacular landscape; I hope have a chance to see some of it. But don’t neglect the NAB Show (and our NAB equipment preview on page 22)! I hope to see you on the trade show floor.

Correction:
In the Jan/Feb cinematography feature, we incorrectly identified the captions associated with the William Wages profile. They should have read as follows: On page 14: Preparing to take off with Col. Swanstrom on location for the 1992 TV movie, Crash Landing: The Rescue of Flight 232. Page 15: William Wages with director Lamont Johnson on the set for The Broken Chain, a 1993 TV movie.

Also in the Jan/Feb issue, our report on the making of Burn Notice (pg. 6), failed to mention the death of Dennis Hall. At press time, we were unaware of his unfortunate passing. Our condolences to his family and friends.

]]>http://markeemagazine.com/wp/from-the-editor-meet-me-in-las-vegas/feed/0Go Westhttp://markeemagazine.com/wp/go-west/
http://markeemagazine.com/wp/go-west/#commentsFri, 09 Nov 2012 18:57:26 +0000http://markeemagazine.com/wp/?p=270The Southwest region of the United States is a geographically diverse and ecologically rich area that is home to about 19 million people. With deserts, mountains, vast open spaces, modern cities, abandoned and/or historic settlements, and plenty of sunshine, this region offers something for nearly every filmmaker.

The Southwest region of the United States is a geographically diverse and ecologically rich area that is home to about 19 million people. With deserts, mountains, vast open spaces, modern cities, abandoned and/or historic settlements, and plenty of sunshine, this region offers something for nearly every filmmaker. To learn more, Markee spoke with the state film offices of Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas about their incentive packages and to get a sense for what it’s like to shoot in their states.

Colorado: For more than Westerns

North Fork Ranch is one hour southwest of Denver.

What do movies such as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, City Slickers, True Grit, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade have in common? They all were at least partially shot in Colorado. Obviously, Colorado is an ideal location for the rugged, beautiful landscapes required of a Western (such as The Lone Ranger, which is filming in the state this summer), but the state offers much, much more. According to the Colorado Office of Film Television & Media (www.coloradofilm.org), the state features more than 50 “14’ers” (mountain peaks over 14,000 feet tall), awe-inspiring natural beauty of the dramatic red rocks landscape, an expanding grape growing region, farmlands of the Eastern Plains, the tallest sand dunes in the nation, and untamed rivers. Further, Colorado is proud of its diverse architecture, the organization says, which includes modern skyscrapers and buildings designed by internationally known architects.

Diverse locations, experienced crew, established infrastructure and film-friendly communities is what makes filming in Colorado easy, says Drew Repp, Colorado Office of Film Television & Media program manager. The incentives aren’t so bad either.

Currently, according to Repp, the Colorado Film Incentive program offers producers a 10 percent cash rebate for production costs taking place in Colorado. The incentive program covers feature films (both independent and studio), television pilots, television series (broadcast and cable), commercials, music videos, industrials, documentaries, and video game design and creation.

Williams Reservoir, 20 miles on well graded dirt road from Pagosa Springs, Colo. Pagosa is one hour from the Durango-La Plata County airport (DRO).

To qualify for the program, a Colorado production company must have qualified in-state spending of at least $100,000 on the project, while an out-of-state production company must have at least $250,000 in qualifying expenses. In addition to the qualifying expenses, at least 25 percent of the workforce on every project must locally hired in order for the project to meet state incentive guidelines.

Furthermore, in the current legislative session there is a bill (HB 12-1286) proposing an increase of the cash rebate to 20 percent. The bill also would create a loan guarantee program for production activities.

And speaking of hiring local professionals, there are a number of local production companies with which to work. There’s Futuristic Films, High Noon Entertainment, Citizen Pictures, Listen Productions, and Walk the Line Films just to name a few.

Nevada: Finding the perfect location is no gamble

Two of the stars of Fox’s Raising Hope, Garret Dillahunt (left) and Lucas Neff.

Currently, Nevada does not offer an incentive or tax rebate program for the film and production industry. (Note: A bill may go before the State Legislature in 2013.) However, there is no corporate or personal income tax, no unitary or inventory tax, and there is an abatement of room tax after 30 days. These smaller incentives, plus locations and an atmosphere you can’t find anywhere else, are enough to draw film and television shoots year-round. As stated on page 4 of this issue, there have been at least 90 major motion pictures shot in Nevada, and several TV programs.

“Most productions already know about the neon and glitter of Las Vegas and the world famous strip, but what most don’t know is that Nevada has many unique and one-of-a-kind locations,” says Charlie Geocaris, director of the Nevada Film Office (www.nevadafilm.com). “Nevada boasts more mountains than any other state in America, has abandoned ghost towns, miles of scenic and curved roads, vast desert landscapes and playas, cattle ranches, cow towns and picturesque lakes for productions.”

Additionally, there are several dozen local, state-of-the-art production companies both in Las Vegas and nearby Reno that execute regional and national projects. Speaking of projects, recent productions filmed in the state include the following: New Line just wrapped Burt Wonderstone, starring Steve Carell, Jim Carrey, Olivia Wilde and Steve Buscemi; The Muppets and Lay the Favorite were filmed in the state; and television programs included CSI, American Idol, the Miss America Pageant, Pawn Stars, the Latin Grammys, Raising Hope and the Country Music Awards. Commercials filmed in Nevada include spots for AT&T, Cadillac, Converse, Adidas and Jaguar.

There’s no arguing that Nevada is recognized the world over for amazing locations, professional crews and state-of-the-art facilities. “Our motto at the Nevada Film Office is ‘Your Imagination. Our Locations’ and we tell productions that their projects are limited only by their creativity with locations so unique they act as built-in sets for motion pictures, television, commercials, documentaries, industrial films, music videos, student films, still photography and multi-media projects,” says Geocaris.

New Mexico: Anything but a plain sight

New Mexico has received a great deal of air time on the small screen during the past few years, because of popular shows such as AMC’s Breaking Bad and USA Network’s In Plain Sight. Not to be outdone by TV, film producers are making significant use of the state’s landscape and unique locations as well. 2012’s Haywire and Game Change filmed in New Mexico, as well as the comic books-turned-movies Cowboys & Aliens (2011) and The Avengers (May 2012). Additionally, Gore Verbinski’s retelling of The Lone Ranger is shooting some of its scenes in New Mexico.
“New Mexico has everything from ski resorts to dry lake beds. Whether it’s an urban street or a wide-open road, the versatility is vast,” says Nick Maniatis, director, New Mexico State Film Office. “We also boast over 300 days of sunshine a year.”

To see just how vast and diverse the state’s locations can be, Maniatis recommends searching the more than 8,000 locations and 60,000 photographs in the New Mexico State Film Office’s online database at http://nmfilm.com.

So what else makes New Mexico unique as far as film locations are concerned? “New Mexico has solid infrastructure, geographical diversity, a large professional local crew base, and an extensive number of industry vendors,” Maniatis said. “Jump on a quick, direct flight to L.A. from either Santa Fe or Albuquerque.”

Where tax credits are involved, New Mexico continues to offer one of the most competitive incentive packages, Maniatis’ office says, which includes the 25-percent Refundable Tax Credit, Film Investment Loan Program, and Film Crew Advancement Program. Qualified applicants can receive a 25-percent tax credit on all direct production expenditures and postproduction services – including New Mexico crew – that are subject to taxation. Eligible productions include feature films, independent films, television, regional and national commercials, documentaries, animation, video games, webisodes, and postproduction (including “stand-alone” postproduction). Non-resident actors and stunt performers also qualify for up to a $5 million tax credit. Each fiscal year, New Mexico has $50 million available to expend on approved credits.

Picture from The Cherokee Word for Water, the story of Wilma Mankiller, the first female chief of the Cherokee Tribe, who is world-renowned for her political leadership. She died in April 2010. Pictured from left to right is Wilma’s widower, Charlie Soap, who helped make the film; and actors Kimberly Norris Guerrero and Moses Brings Plenty who portray Wilma and Charlie in the film.Copyright Mankiller Project LLC

Oklahoma: Rolling out the red carpet, not the red tape

According to the Oklahoma Film & Music Office, Oklahoma is known for its quality of life and the willingness of its communities to embrace film production. “We pride ourselves on rolling out the red carpet, not the red tape,” they say.

In case you didn’t know, Oklahoma is located just south of the geographic center of the United States; it is equidistant from Los Angeles and New York City. “The Great Plains state” ranks 20th in size in the nation and exemplifies 11 distinct ecological regions, with terrain including flat, fertile plains; sand dunes; high mesas; dense forests; cypress swamps; rolling hills; and mountains covered in rock or trees. In fact, it is one of only four states with more than 10 ecoregions (subclimates).

Past Hollywood productions filmed in the state include The Killer Inside Me, Twister, Elizabethtown, and The Outsiders. Current film productions include So This is Christmas, The Cherokee Word for Water, Home Run, Just Crazy Enough, Thunderstruck and Yellow. The Cherokee Word for Water tells the story of Wilma Mankiller, the first female chief of the Cherokee Tribe, who is world-renowned for her political leadership. She died in April 2010.

Oklahoma Landscape.Copyright Chris Kucharski

The story of Wilma Mankiller is a local production, and the Oklahoma Film & Music Office says there are numerous production companies that can facilitate a project’s needs from pre- to postproduction. A complete listing of production companies that have registered with the office is available online at www.oklahomafilm.org.

Also available at that web address is a complete guide to the film office’s tax incentive program, which includes a tax rebate up to 37 percent on Oklahoma expenditures to qualifying companies filming in the state. The rebate is capped at $5 million per year, and each qualifying production must have a minimum budget of $50,000 and spend $25,000 in Oklahoma. Of course, Oklahoma Film & Music Office will make the entire process as easy as possible.

Texas: Anything you want, it has it

Caddo Lake State Park, Karnack, Texas – Texas Film Commission

If you’ve been to Texas, then you know the state’s geography is as diverse as its people. From mountains to marshes, from beaches to deserts, from beautiful lakes and rivers to rolling hills and plains, Texas has it all, the Texas Film Commission (http://governor.state.tx.us/film) and the Governor’s Office say. And with 268,000 square miles, the perfect location for your next film project is out there.

Additionally, Texas is no stranger to major film and television productions. It has an infrastructure in place to accommodate productions of any size, and the Texas Film Commission says it is proud to be the home of some of the most talented actors, seasoned crews and beautiful locations in the country. The state’s weather is another great reason to consider filming there, offering mild winters and warm temperatures in the spring and summer.

Need more convincing? Consider the many productions – past and present – shot in the state. According to the Texas Film Commission, Texas has been the backdrop of countless films and productions over the past century, amassing an impressive list of critically acclaimed movies and programs including: Giant, Dallas (and the show’s reboot, premiering in June), five seasons of Friday Night Lights, the film Secondhand Lions, the Oscar-winning There Will Be Blood, the Oscar-nominated True Grit, and the Oscar-nominated and Palme D’Or-winning The Tree of Life. Moreover, a number of television shows and films are currently or have just wrapped up filming in the state including, Top Chef: Texas (Bravo), GCB (ABC), and The Lying Game (ABC Family).

Downtown Lockhart – Texas Film Commission

Texas’ competitive incentive program is another consideration when location scouting. The state offers incentives through the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program (MIIIP), as well as tax exemptions and tax refunds. Qualifying, live-action or animated productions have the opportunity to receive a payment of five percent to 17.5 percent of eligible Texas spending or 8 percent to 29.25 percent of eligible wages to Texas residents, depending on budget levels and type of production. Texas also offers up-front sales tax exemptions on items rented or purchased for direct use in production, as well as refunds on the state occupancy tax and fuel tax.

Further, the Texas Film Commission boasts that Lone Star State has a depth of experienced actors and crew that many states cannot match, and a large percentage of jobs can be filled locally, saving companies money on housing, transportation and per diem. As such, qualifying productions must consist of 70 percent local talent (including extras) and 70 percent of the crew must be Texas residents, and 60 percent of the production must be filmed in Texas. For more information, visit http://www.castandcrew.com/display-details.php?state=TEXAS.

]]>http://markeemagazine.com/wp/go-west/feed/0NAB 2012 From A to Z*http://markeemagazine.com/wp/nab-2012-from-a-to-z/
http://markeemagazine.com/wp/nab-2012-from-a-to-z/#commentsFri, 09 Nov 2012 18:51:31 +0000http://markeemagazine.com/wp/?p=260NAB attendees can use this article to get a head start on convention planning, while non-attendees can keep pace with manufacturers’ latest product briefs.

]]>NAB attendees can use this article to get a head start on convention planning, while non-attendees can keep pace with manufacturers’ latest product briefs.

By Cory Sekine-Pettite

AAdyn Technology
(booth C6046) • www.aadyntech.com
AAdyn Technology will debut the new “Jab” 5600 AC/DC portable LED fixture at NAB. Details were not yet available as of our deadline. AAdyn Technology sources its LEDs from Cree Inc., for the brightest, even-field single-source LED lights ever. Through a partnership with North Carolina manufacturer Sturdy Corporation, the production of its LED fixtures is kept in the United States. In addition to LED lighting solutions, AAdyn Technology provides camera support and grip equipment, includeing light wraps, heat-resistant flags, and rain blankets.

Anton/Bauer
(booth C7032) • www.antonbauer.com
Anton/Bauer will demonstrate the advanced capabilities of its latest power solutions at NAB. New products on display will include the QRC-CA940 Gold Mount solution for the Canon EOS C300 camera and MATRIX Cheese Plate, a mounting plate that can be used with the company’s Gold Mount Solutions for the Sony PMW-F3 camera and NEX-FS-100; Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EOS 7D, EOS 60D Digital SLR camera and the EOS C300; Panasonic AG-AF100 series professional HD camera; and RED EPIC digital cinema camera.

ARRI Inc.
(booth C6737) • www.arri.com
ARRI is the largest manufacturer of professional motion picture cameras, lighting equipment and post tools. Camera systems include: the new ALEXA Plus and ALEXA M Digital Camera Systems, lenses and professional camera accessories. Stop by to see the latest in acquisition and production, 3D stereoscopic equipment, cameras and lenses, lighting and grip, motion picture/film production, and workflow software and solutions.

Audio-Technica U.S., Inc.
(booth C3010) • www.audio-technica.com
Audio-Technica will feature new and notable products, including the AT2005USB Cardioid Dynamic USB/XLR Microphone. This handheld dynamic microphone has both USB and XLR connections, enabling its use either with a computer or with a P.A. system. Its durable metal construction provides long-lasting performance. Its low-mass diaphragm and smooth, extended frequency response make the microphone ideally suited for voiceover, field recording, podcasting, home studio recording and live performance use.

Barix Annuncicom PS1

Barix
(booth C1139) • www.barix.com
Barix is coming to NAB with new Audio over IP broadcast solutions, including its first two-way audio application for the TV and video production space. The Annuncicom PS1 Paging Station doubles as an IP paging and intercom device, with a simple and compact design ideal for use in fast-paced video production environments. A push-to-talk button allows technical directors to facilitate camera movements and communicate with production personnel while remaining mobile. Camera operators can mount a simple belt clip to the back of the device for on-cable attachments. It is operable with one hand, and the familiar surface means personnel can use it without looking at the device.

Bexel
(booths C6833 and C9046) • www.bexel.com
At this year’s NAB Show, Bexel will host two booths – Bexel Rentals (booth C6833) and Bexel Professional Sales Group (booth C9046) – each highlighting the company’s expertise and diverse solutions for live broadcast events. Representatives will be available to discuss the company’s latest projects – from large sporting and entertainment events to higher-end reality television productions.

B&S Sprinter Van

Birns & Sawyer, Inc.
(booth C8140) • www.birnsandsawyer.com
Birns & Sawyer’s custom, pre-loaded production vans starting with the “Red Carpet” Van and the new Nissan Sprinter Van offer filmmakers affordable and convenient vehicles to service their productions. Many independent feature productions already are using Birns & Sawyer’s “Turbo 18’ Grip Truck” and “Indie Filmmaker 14’ Grip Van” for their productions. The 18’ grip truck “Turbo” and the 14’ “Indie” are perfect for commercials, indie features and documentaries. Each truck and van is outfitted with the lightning instruments you know, such as ARRI, light panels, Kino Flow and American C-stands, along with a new line of internationally known HMI and Tungsten favorites re-engineered for the demands of today’s film maker.

CANON XU-80 HD PTZ Camera

Canon U.S.A.
(booths C4325, C3634) • www.usa.canon.com
Among the many products Canon will showcase are the XU-80 Remote Control Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) HD Camera, and the new REALiS WUX5000 and WUX5000 D Installation LCOS Projectors. Canon says a diverse range of video users are seeking cost-effective, remotely controllable pan-tilt-zoom HD camera systems to provide convenient high-quality widescreen (16:9 aspect ratio) image capture from practically any visual perspective. The XU-80 is Canon’s response to this need. This compact, integrated HD PTZ camera system offers exceptional picture quality, fast pan-and-tilt action, and a waterproof and dustproof design that makes it well suited for either outdoor or indoor use. The company’s new projectors are designed to provide exceptional display performance for a wide range of professional AV markets. They utilize Canon’s unique fourth-generation AISYS (Aspectual Illumination System) optical technology to maximize the display capabilities of their advanced LCOS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon) imaging panels. This combination enables the projectors to deliver higher-than-HD-resolution (1920 x 1200) widescreen video and still images with an aspect ratio of 16:10 and a high brightness level of 5000 lumens.

Cinegy
(booth SL12213) • www.cinegy.com
Version 9.1 of Cinegy Archive and Cinegy Desktop will be launched at NAB. Cinegy Archive now has a new open API with SOAP and REST web services that also form the basis of the new Cinegy Workspace web client, as well as highly customizable portal front-end, e.g. for customer facing cloud apps. The new Cinegy Media Services allow real-time, on-the-fly creation of streaming content for any content being requested by the user in the format best suited for the device and bandwidth the user has. Cinegy Desktop now integrates a news production module, has improved production workflow features such as roundtrip AVID integration, and an improved real-time craft editor for demanding SD or HD productions. Cinegy Desktop now handles up to 256 audio channels, including surround sound, and it features Nvidia CUDA accelerated video effects.

Cooke Optics
(booth C8334) • www.cookeoptics.com
Cooke will be demonstrating its three families of lenses – 5/i, S4/i and Panchro. Cooke lenses were used to film Hugo (Academy Award winner for Best Cinematography, nominee for Best Picture), as well as Midnight in Paris and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (both nominees for Best Picture). The Panchro lenses are reaching new customers; the quality, reputation and look of Cooke lenses together with the lower price point and smaller size are attracting producers of everything from TV dramas and documentaries to educational and high-end corporate productions. In particular there is increased interest from those using digital cameras with PL mounts like the ARRI Alexa, RED and the Sony F3.

FilmLight
(booth SL2420) • www.filmlight.itd.uk
FilmLight will be showing how its products facilitate every step in the production process from the set to the screen. It will show how Baselight, Baselight Portable and Baselight Plug-ins are being used to set looks in pre-production, to apply grades and create dailies on-set and near-set, to spur collaboration between editorial, visual effects and grading departments, and to apply final grading and DI finishing in real-time 4K (including 3D).

GoPro
(booth C3628) • http://gopro.com
GoPro has strengthened its entire GoPro CineForm Studio product line for 2D and 3D postproduction workflows. For professional cinematographers, filmmakers and videographers, GoPro also has strengthened its family of professional applications. GoPro CineForm Studio Premium captures the most popular features of both CineForm’s Neo HD and Neo 3D into a singular, new solution ideal for 2D and 3D broadcast and feature film production. GoPro CineForm Studio Professional extends even more powerful stereo 3D postproduction capabilities to 3D broadcasters and 3D feature filmmakers, and is optimized for multi-camera stereo rigs, such as SI, PHANTOM, RED, and ARRI ALEXA.

JVC
(booth C4314) • http://pro.jvc.com
JVC’s new 4K Compact Handheld Camcorder (GY-HMQ10U) is sure to turn a few heads at NAB. The GY-HMQ10 is the world’s first hand held camcorder capable of capturing and recording real-time video at 4 times the resolution of full HD—3840 x 2160 images at 24p, 50p and 60p. Now you can deliver stunning cinema-quality recordings with a small form factor, self-contained camcorder. The system employs a razor sharp F2.8 10x zoom lens specifically designed for 4K imaging. A high-speed 1/2-inch class CMOS device with 8.3 million active pixels captures live progressive images at up to 60 fps. This data is then processed using an array of custom JVC Falconbrid LSI chips that deBayer the image and provide a live 4K output while simultaneously compressing video for recording onto separate solid state memory cards.

Masstech
(booth N5218) • www.masstech.com
At NAB, Masstech will display its new DIAMOND collection, a range of low-cost Apps for workflow and interoperability using simple drag & drop operations, as well as new software updates for its streamlined Media Asset Management (MAM) product line. All of Masstech’s solutions for digital archiving and restoring will now come equipped with support for Linear Tape File System (LTFS) material interchange and portability. By enabling files stored on tape to be directly accessed in the same way they would be on an external hard drive, LTFS provides a platform for interchange of media. Other new software features include a one-step ‘single search’ process; an updated user interface; performance enhancements, including support for 64bit Windows OS; and more efficient searching capabilities.

HD-DC Slider

Matthews Studio Equipment Inc.
(booth C5437) • www.msegrip.com
Matthews Studio Equipment (MSE) will showcase multiple products, including Skyscraper, a new series of heavy duty, light weight lighting stands; the new HD-DC Slider, the next generation of the award winning DC Slider introduced at NAB 2011; and the Motion Control (MC) motor/micro processor system, The Smart Phone Adapter, and the Universal Tablet Mount for the DC Slider. And making its debut will be a new line of Tinker Tools. Designed, for those who have made iPads, iPhones and other small devices a vital part of their production package, the Tinker Tools are a way to keep everything close at hand – but hands free.

Miller Camera Support
(booth C7833) • www.millertripods.com
Miller will unveil its new 150mm ball base fluid head – Skyline 70 that supports a diverse choice of camera configurations up to 40 kg / 88 lbs. Features include 7-position pan and tilt drag, 8-position of selectable counterbalance, +90 degrees tilt, 120mm sliding quick release camera platform, mounting block/adaptors for accessories and safety tilt lock. The Skyline 70 incorporates a totally new counterbalance system that provides 8 positions of adjustment to enable payloads from 4.5 kg to 37.5 kg / 10 to 82.5 lbs @ 150mm C of G to be perfectly balanced. With this extended range, the Skyline 70 will accommodate a wide range of cameras in various configurations making it versatile for many applications. The ergonomic design reflects the shooting needs of sports based configurations and outside broadcast operations using barrel or lightweight box lens with external viewfinders.

Miranda Technologies Inc.
(booth N2512) • www.miranda.com
Miranda Technologies will showcase multiple new solutions at the 2012 NAB Show that reduce operating costs by streamlining content production and delivery workflows. For production studios and trucks, Miranda will showcase its signal processing, routing, and monitoring systems that integrate tightly with production switchers and audio mixers to deliver more flexible and more responsive operator workflows.

MTI Film
(booth SL14706) • www.mtifilm.com
MTI Film will be showing Cortex::Convey and Cortex::Capture, the first products in MTI’s next generation of tools to provide an efficient, easy-to-use and coherent environment for data-centric postproduction workflows. Cortex::Convey is a powerful yet simple transcoding engine that supports all popular inputs and outputs to facilitate the creation of file based deliverables for every phase of Post. It boasts an intuitive user interface and easy-to-design templates that feed automated background processes so transcoding is effortless for all users, the company reports. Cortex::Capture is a DIT’s new best friend, with features for ingesting, verifying and transcoding images from all types of digital cameras, automatic audio-image sync, plus setting and exporting looks from on-set.

OConnor DM1030D baseplate

OConnor
(booth C6028) • www.ocon.com
For the first time at NAB, attendees can experience hands-on the Ultimate 1030D (30 lb/13.6kg capacity) and Ultimate 1030Ds (41 lb/18.6kg capacity) fluid heads. The systems include stepless, ultra-smooth pan and tilt fluid drag that provides ultimate control and stability for digital cinematography shooting. The 1030D model provides a tilt range of ±90∞, while the 1030Ds head has a ±60∞ tilt range for heavier loads up to 41 lb/18.6kg. Both heads are ideal for use with full-format sensor lighter weight cameras, such as the RED Epic and Scarlet, Sony F3 and Canon C300. Also on display from OConnor: the 30L Carbon Fiber Tripod, O-Focus Dual Mini Follow Focus System, and the Universal Camera Baseplate.

Photron, Inc.
(booth SL4620) • www.photron.com
The new Fastcam BC2, a high-quality, high-def, high-speed video camera designed specifically for the broadcast market, will be on display at NAB. With excellent 12-bit dynamic range and 4 mega pixel (2,000 x 2,000 to 1,000 fps) resolution, the new CMOS sensor provides full 1080 high-definition resolution at 1920 x 1080 up to 2,000 fps and reduced resolution to over 86,000 fps. The new BC2 is compatible with the Sony HDVF-C30WR HD viewfinder, and PL, B4 and Nikon F-mount lenses. Additional benefits for broadcast applications include a 2.76 microsecond shutter and very low noise, artifact-free electronically cooled CMOS imaging sensor.

Quantel
(booth SL2415) • www.quantel.com
Quantel will be presenting several new products, including a new broadcast architecture that enables COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf) storage to support fast-turnaround workflows, new Pablo high-end post software, updated Enterprise sQ fast-turnaround production system, new innovations for QTube Edit, and much more.

Quantum Instruments
(booth C11834) • www.qtm.com
Quantum’s Omicron Flash/Video Ring Light utilizes 80 LED lamps – with a new twist. Omicron is the first “Chromatically Correct” LED light for photo, video and HDSLR video. White-only LED sources leave spectral gaps compared to traditional and natural light sources. Quantum has critically filled in those gaps with compensating colored LEDs to provide the most natural light spectrum. Furthermore, thanks to the ring design, the colored shadows of other compensated LED light sources are eliminated. The mounting bracket included with the Omicron QF26 is designed for use with all popular DSLR and video cameras.

Sachtler Ace

Sachtler
(booth C6032) • www.sachtler.com
Sachtler will present the new Ace tripod system. The company says the compact, durable, and lightweight Ace offers familiar Sachtler quality at a sensational price/performance ratio. Ace – aimed largely at the growing video and DSLR filmmaker market – features an ergonomic design, intuitive operation, and a payload range of 8.8 lbs. It is ideal for lightweight HDV camcorders and video-enabled DSLR cameras. Developed specifically for Ace, the patented SA-drag (Synchronized Actuated Drag) enables exact and reproducible pans. With the 5-step counterbalance, the camera set-up can be quickly balanced.

Solid State Logic
(booth C2013) • www.solidstatelogic.com
SSL’s new Broadcast Demo Vehicle will be on display at NAB. The truck is a 30-foot, custom designed Ford with a state-of-the-art mobile production facility designed to handle a broad range of on-air audio productions. Equipped with an SSL C10 HD console, the vehicle offers a full range of SSL broadcast I/O and a range of essential broadcast technologies from partners Genelec, Miranda and RTS. SSL has already started touring the vehicle throughout the country, offering a unique opportunity to bring a high-end demonstration and training area to a user’s front door.

Sony Electronics
(booth C11001) • www.sony.com/professional
Sony’s F65 camera has been making waves since it’s introduction last year. If you haven’t seen it, now’s your chance. Billed as “true 4K and beyond,” the F65 exceeds the resolution of any previous digital motion picture camera (as of August 2011. The image sensor boasts the most photosites of any digital motion picture camera (20 million) and is the world’s first to offer a dedicated green photosite for every pixel in the 4K output image. The F65 can provide exquisite images of supersampling 1080p high definition, perfect for the time-is-money pressures of episodic television. The F65 also can output 16-bit linear RAW, which preserves all the information obtained from every photosite on the image sensor – up to 8K of resolution. Learn more at Sony’s booth.

Tektronix
(booth N1929) • www.tektronix.com
Tektronix will showcase the latest innovations for postproduction, broadcasting and video service providers, including rasterizers optimized for color grading, file-based video QC, and video network monitoring. For example, the WFM7200 waveform monitor and WVR7200 rasterizer help content providers verify the quality of video content and make precision adjustments that reduce the potential for gamut errors during the editing and format conversion process, effectively preventing client dissatisfaction and the need for costly rework. And Cerify Version 7.4 automates the QC of file-based video and audio, and now includes significant speed improvements.

TV Pro Gear
(booth OE1425) • www.tvprogear.com
At NAB, TV Pro Gear will be showing it’s newest generation of Flypaks. They feature six cameras on optical fiber, four channels of instant replay/slow-motion and two channels of Chyron Graphics. The company also will be displaying the 3D Flypak recently built for Wealth TV to shoot Don King Boxing matches for ESPN. Also on display will be its newest Mercedes Benz Sprinter Truck with a VSAT uplink dish. A six-camera truck with a two-channel title generator, 4 channels of instant replay can be purchased for as little as $250,000.

]]>http://markeemagazine.com/wp/nab-2012-from-a-to-z/feed/0Redefining Mobilehttp://markeemagazine.com/wp/redefining-mobile/
http://markeemagazine.com/wp/redefining-mobile/#commentsFri, 09 Nov 2012 18:45:57 +0000http://markeemagazine.com/wp/?p=251Although the big trucks may still leap to mind when mobile production is mentioned, there’s been a redefinition of what it means to be mobile. Today, Mobile Studio USA offers ADR and webcasting in a 14-foot unit; CCI has taken its small-footprint HD trailer...

Although the big trucks may still leap to mind when mobile production is mentioned, there’s been a redefinition of what it means to be mobile. Today, Mobile Studio USA offers ADR and webcasting in a 14-foot unit; CCI has taken its small-footprint HD trailer on the road; Motion Picture Marine and its Perfect Horizon system bring picture stabilization to anything that moves, including camera boats; and Island Century Media is providing fixed-wing live aerials to previously unserved areas.

Mobile Studio USA Takes ADR and Webcasting On Location

While most mobile services tend to focus on picture, the sound side of the equation also is available “to go.” Mobile Studio USA (www.mobile
studiousa.com), a division of Voice Over There Inc., brings a mobile ADR booth to the set whether on the studio lot or on location. The same unit, which is outfitted with a greenscreen virtual studio, also can be deployed for live broadcasts or webcasts.

The control room of the Mobile Studio USA trailer features an Avid Pro Tools 9 and Digidesign 003 controller.

“Ours is the first unit of its kind,” says Tony Schmitz, director of marketing for Mobile Studio USA (www.mobilestudiousa.com). “Others have built ADR trailers that sit on location for the duration of a series, for example. But our compact, soundproof unit can move around daily: We’ve done as many as five or six shows a week.”

Veteran director/technical director Amir Soleimani, company president and CEO, designed and manufactured his first ADR trailer in 2007 and launched it at NAB. The 14-foot soundproofed unit is outfitted with an ADR booth and control room. It features an Avid Pro Tools 9, a Sennheiser shotgun, Audio Technica mic and Sanken lavs and offers audio, video and FireWire interconnectivity between the rooms and to the outside.

“We’ve done over 250 episodes of primetime ADR,” said Schmitz. The unit was on the Paramount lot when it was refitting its stages; did work at LA Center Studios, where there is no ADR stage for Law & Order: Los Angeles; and goes on location for Bones to record ADR. At press time, it was servicing the series Happy Endings and Ringer, the latter at Culver Studios, which has no ADR stage of its own.

Mobile Studio USA also was at L.A.’s Nokia Theater for the 2008 Primetime Emmy Awards, where it recorded celebrity voiceovers for video roll ins at rehearsals. During the live telecast, the unit was used as the main VO booth; it also did the live mix for the singer and pianist featured on the show.

Some other highlights for the unit have been recording Sean Penn’s voiceovers for The Tree of Life at his Malibu home; Willem Dafoe’s voiceover for a Jim Beam commercial while he was on location in downtown L.A.; and a song track with Katy Perry for a music video duet with Elmo for Sesame Street.

Keeping his eye on the trends, Soleimani saw the explosion of web content and the rise of VOIP and webstreaming. The advent of NewTek’s TriCaster “gave budget-conscious producers the ability to do HD-quality video, but what often gets short shrift on location is sound quality,” notes Schmitz. By equipping Mobile Studio USA with a greenscreen and TriCaster, the unit can now provide studio-quality sound in a virtual studio that enables producers to “significantly improve the professional look of web content,” he says.

Soleimani notes that the unit offers webstreaming for international broadcasters, corporate events, minor league sports, red carpets and behind-the-scenes coverage. “We can also act as a little brother to the big trucks sharing feeds and hooking up to any outside source,” he added. “By keeping ourselves versatile and ready to change, we’re able to open a lot of doors moving forward.”

Schmitz points out that Mobile Studio USA is essentially “an HD broadcast studio that you can put anywhere.”

The Mobile Studio USA trailer sets up on location for a recording session.

“We bring what’s traditionally been provided by a TV studio and remote feeds to producers right on site,” says Soleimani. “We do it all right there and send out the actual produced show. It saves producers money on crew and facilities, and gives them a chance to step up their look. They get the look of a studio-produced show without the expense.”

He explains that the modular approach to the unit’s design means that “nothing is locked into place – everything is made to change. It seems that every year you feel your equipment is outdated. We’ve made it easy to replace equipment and integrate different technology.”

The only constant, he notes, is the unit’s soundproofing, on which he spared no expense, as the company’s roster of Hollywood A-list clients can attest.

Based in Santa Clarita in suburban L.A., Mobile Studio USA currently covers the Southwestern states. Its partner, VO2Go, provides voiceover talent on location. The company plans to have mobile studios available in every region of the country, including New York, Dallas, Miami and Chicago. “We’re already getting calls from New York,” Soleimani reports.

CCI Offers Versatility via Compact HD Mobile Production Unit #7

“From time to time, we ran across HD jobs for small units and there were no small units out – just flypacks to assemble on site and the big trucks,” says CCI President and Senior Producer Jim Lewis. There were few options for sports that needed coverage of preliminary rounds of play or dual-language broadcasts, he notes.

A niche definitely needed filling. A niche for an HD mobile unit with a small footprint for pre-, halftime and post-game programming; multiple-language telecasts; and to support larger trucks side-by-side.

So CCI introduced its Mobile Production Unit #7, a self-contained 15.5-foot trailer only. The company originally built and outfitted the unit for Windfall Films’ coverage of the last Space Shuttle launch in July 2011 for Discovery Networks. CCI re-equipped the truck in its present configuration and put it on the road last October.

“We built our first truck in 1980 and know you have to be versatile,” says Lewis. “You have to be able to handle everything from a sporting event to a corporate meeting to a rocket launch.” At the heart of #7 is a Blackmagic Design 40×40 Videohub, “a fairly large router for a compact mobile unit,” he notes. “It can route any signal from the truck anywhere, and it’s all under IP control so it can be controlled from any laptop or PC.”

The mobile unit boasts five Panasonic AG-HPX500 HD cameras with Canon and Fujinon lenses; JVC and Panasonic HD monitors; a Datavideo HD single-channel character generator; and a 32-channel Behringer audio board geared toward live sound. The equipment complement is customizable for projects, and the surprisingly spacious interior can accommodate a crew of six. “There’s a lot of workspace,” says Lewis.

CCI’s Mobile Production Unit #7 on location at Cape Canaveral for the launch of the last Space Shuttle.

He notes that “big events will always need big trucks to accommodate their needs and the number of people who create the truly amazing things you see in playoffs, the Super Bowl, on the Academy Awards. But you’ll be seeing more compact units, too. There are inherent issues with flypacks, which are not pre-tested and require a lot of time to set up. A compact unit can roll in and be making pictures an hour or two later.”

CCI’s Mobile Production Unit #7 is ideal for conventions and corporate meetings, he points out. He’s been getting calls from TV stations with new secondary channels dedicated to news, local sports or community service programming. “They need a cost-effective way to produce content with a high-end look and feel, and we fill the bill.”

The unit has done red carpet pre-shows for large hospital and university fundraising events, which are distributed on local TV and the Internet. It also has covered Division 2 and 3 college basketball, furnishing a switched feed for Internet sports subscribers and recorded material for highlights reels.

Lewis expects most of the bookings for #7 to come from Florida and the Southeast; a van drives to the venue, disconnects the unit and leaves it onsite reducing costs associated with a crew of engineers and drivers required by the big trucks.

“We’re very excited about our approach,” he says. “It’s something we believe in. It’s the right thing at the right time.”

Motion Picture Marine Stabilizes Cameras in Motion

Marina del Rey, Calif.’s, Motion Picture Marine (www.motionpicturemarine.com) has coordinated maritime services for almost 1,500 shows, providing camera boats, skippers, crew and stunt services for TV series and feature films. It has access to an array of camera boats from 20-footers to 32-foot custom power catamarans and 75-foot fishing/diving boats.

Motion Picture Marine’s Perfect Horizon system was used on the historical drama,Nova Zembla, which shot in Holland.

President David Grober notes that there are far fewer maritime productions these days, however. So his company has reinvented itself and now garners most of its business from its Emmy- and Academy Award-winning Perfect Horizon camera stabilization head. Mounted between the tripod and fluid head, the camera-agnostic Perfect Horizon counteracts pitch and roll, and creates a perfectly stable horizon. The digital camera stabilization head saves production time and money, and promotes creativity in shotmaking – even in the harshest of filming environments.

“I’ve been a marine coordinator since 1977, and there was never a small, lightweight camera stabilization system available,” recalled Grober. “A lot of times we were using the equivalent of a Wescam helicopter mount.” So he started developing a compact system in 1992 and about eight years later brought Perfect Horizon to market. Today, it weighs in at approximately 29 pounds and is about eight inches tall. It fits in a Pelikan case that can be stowed in the back of a car or checked as standard airline baggage.

Grober notes that Perfect Horizon is not only designed for marine applications but also for use with camera cars, bikes, snowmobiles, helicopters and even lengths of dolly track. “It’s an all-around stabilizing device,” he points out. “There are more and more requirements for camera vehicles – there’s a lot more motion and movement in shots than there used to be. And we can make it easy to stabilize cameras in motion.”

Motion Picture Marine’s Perfect Horizon system onboard a camera boat for the upcoming feature Of Men and Mavericks.

Perfect Horizon has been deployed on the James Bond films, Die Another Day and Casino Royale; the Harry Potter franchise; a water shoot for Criminal Minds; and surf sequences in Blue Crush and Step Into Liquid. The head was used on a stereo 3D rig for the Dutch historical drama, Nova Zembla, about a 16th century arctic voyage. It helped capture marine shots for John Carter and the upcoming feature Of Men and Mavericks, about big-wave surfing.

Wildlife filmmakers also take advantage of Perfect Horizon. It was recently used on the shark-themed Air Jaws IV for Discovery, which shot in South Africa, and will be mounted on a yakcam for a National Geographic program shooting in Nepal.

Island Century Media Brings Coverage to Remote Venues

Tampa-based Island Century Media (www.icm4hd.com), which is known for its aerial cinematography, has helped enhance several recent productions previously limited by their remote locales. Island Century Media’s Director of Photography Rob Gunter utilized Cessna’s Caravan to capture footage in Hawaii and Mexico for PGA events that had never been able to have live aerial coverage before.

He spent 10 days in Kapalua, Maui turnkeying coverage of the Tournament of Champions for the PGA Tour and Golf Channel; the competition annually kicks off the PGA Tour. “No one had ever done live aerials from any golf tournaments in Hawaii until we did it,” Gunter reports. “We delivered low delay, high-data rate HD microwave to the ground where it was switched in realtime like any other source.” He captured footage with gyro-stabilized Sony Cine Alta cameras. The PGA Tour and Golf Channel producers were “over the moon” with the results.

View of Oahu’s Hanauma Bay captured by Rob Gunter of Island Century Media.

Then Gunter traveled to Honolulu for the PGA Tour’s Sony Open whose coverage also was switched in realtime. He had provided aerials, using the same system, for the last four seasons of the British Open Golf Tournament at Royal Birkdale, St. Andrews, Royal St. George’s and Turnberry for ESPN and the BBC – flying when poor weather conditions didn’t permit the use of blimps.

Island Century Media shot aerials for the PGA Tour at Sea Island, Georgia.

“You can see how blimp shots add dimension to coverage that not even a high tower can get,” he says. “A plane gives you access to a much wider area, spreads the coverage and brings it all together. We captured whales offshore in Hawaii and shot B roll off the north shore of Molokai, a remote area usually obscured by low clouds over the cliffs – we caught it on a day when there happened to be very few clouds. For golf we follow drives from the tee to the fairway and shots to the green – or into the rough – greatly enhancing the live coverage.”

Gunter has developed a new mount for the popular Cessna Caravan, which allows DPs to shoot from an easily available plane and ship only a minimal amount of gear on location. “It used to be that you couldn’t go out and use a local plane; you’d have to fly one already configured with a camera,” he explains. His new mount accommodates a Flir Ultra Media HD gyro-stabilized gimbal with a Sony Cine Alta camera and 42×9.7 Fujinon telephoto lens. Offering this fixed-wing package worldwide will open up new possibilities for aerial cinematography, he believes.

In addition to golf, Gunter has captured aerials for cycling races, marathons and triathlons, and NCAA football, the latter in conjunction with the Goodyear Blimp. At press time he was headed to Mexico for the PGA’s Mayakoba Classic whose coverage also will be switched in realtime.

]]>http://markeemagazine.com/wp/redefining-mobile/feed/0Keeping It Realhttp://markeemagazine.com/wp/keeping-it-real/
http://markeemagazine.com/wp/keeping-it-real/#commentsFri, 09 Nov 2012 18:37:25 +0000http://markeemagazine.com/wp/?p=239With visual effects part of just about every commercial on television theses days it's refreshing to discover that live-action VFX solutions play a major role in new spots for Geico, Olay and Toyota, and a promo for Showtime's hit series House of Lies.

By Christine Bunish

With visual effects part of just about every commercial on television theses days it’s refreshing to discover that live-action VFX solutions play a major role in new spots for Geico, Olay and Toyota, and a promo for Showtime’s hit series House of Lies.

Click 3X

Click 3X Helps Maxwell the Pig Go Mobile For Geico

Move over gecko, Maxwell the pig is your new rival for airtime. The “whee-whee-whee” crying porker appears in two hilarious commercials, “Zipline” and “Luge,” from The Martin Agency/Richmond promoting Geico’s new mobile app with digital VFX by New York City’s Click 3X (www.click3x.com).

Maxwell is about as mobile as they get propelling on a zipline in the snowy mountains alongside a surprised sportsman and speeding on his back in a street luge against an astonished competitor. His signature spinning blue pinwheels always accompany Maxwell on his adventures.

Maxwell the pig speeds in his street luge, signature blue pinwheels spinning, in the latest Geico spot from Click 3X.

Legacy Effects in San Fernando, Calif., created an animatronic Maxwell for the commercials, which Click 3X composites into live-action environments and enhances with smirks, ear movements and other gestures. “Maxwell is never fully CG,” notes Click 3X creative director and senior VFX artist Mark Szumski. “They try their best to get him in camera; our job is to remove the rigs, rods and puppeteers and make it all appear seamless.”

Geico decided to bring Maxwell to life as an animatronic since the famed gecko is so obviously a 3D-animated character. “A lot of people felt animatronic was the way to go without making Maxwell look like a cartoon animal,” Szumski explained.

Click 3X Executive Producer Chris Kiser points out that it’s the little tweaks to Legacy Effects’ brilliant animatronic that “go a long way to bringing Maxwell to life. Once Mark gets on Flame and adds nuances and enhancements and small color corrections – like more pink to the ears and nose – that takes it to the next level.”

Click 3X did extensive pre-vis in Autodesk Maya for the spots as a blueprint for the production. “The day we shot the zipline park, we did an edit session immediately with Director Brian Lee Hughes [of Skunk] and DP Paul Cameron cutting all the backplates pretty precisely to what became the final edit and providing important guidelines for the greenscreen shoot the next day,” said Kiser. “Pre-vis is essential for lining up angles and lighting.”

[Left] Click 3X did a pre-vis showing Maxwell the pig in his street luge.
[Right] Geico’sMaxwell the pig in a pre-visby Click 3X before “Luge” was shot.

Szumski concurs. “Our pre-vis was pretty accurate to the finals in both cases. We were almost 1:1 for every single scene. The pre-vis helped everyone move faster on shoot day and gave the puppeteers less guesswork for Maxwell. We love doing pre-vis. It makes our jobs a lot easier.”

The live action for “Zipline” was shot at a zipline park in California where an ARRI ALEXA was mounted on a remotely operated rig that traveled along one of the ziplines. For the opening whip pan, Cameron was back at base camp at the helm of a device which controlled the camera’s tilt and rotation to create a carefully-timed spin, release and stop that was inspired by the camera movement mapped out in the pre-vis animation.

All of Maxwell’s scenes were shot greenscreen with the puppeteer manipulating the pig’s rods to create his gleeful performance. The actor also was shot greenscreen for his ride.

Live-action plates for “Luge” were made on location. Puppeteers rode in a motorcycle sidecar to get down low and work Maxwell’s rods as his little street luge was towed at speed down the road. The luge-riding actor was shot on the street and crashing into bales of hay – the latter in just one take. The final shot where Maxwell hits a bump and flies into the air on his luge was photographed in the greenscreen studio. “It would have been tricky to shoot and make it work in post,” Kiser said. “But in Flame we could make it feel he was really ramping off something.”

Legacy Effects has two different animatronic Maxwells: a “low-fi” version and a more detailed version. “One works well for distant shots and is remote-control operated; you don’t get the same level of detail or motion with it,” says Szumski. “For close ups, there’s another body operated by the puppeteers, and there’s a different set of animatronics for the face.” Thus, Maxwell’s mouth can be preprogrammed to read his lines.

[Left] Maxwell the pig hits a bump on his street luge and flies through the air on the greenscreen stage for the latest Geico spot from Click 3X.
[Right] “Zipline” pre-vis for Geico’s Maxwell the pig by Click 3X.

Szumski is tasked with “quite a bit of retouching” on the pig’s skin and hairs. “I do beauty work on his belly,” he reported. Kiser notes that the very flexible animatronic got “odd creases and folds in his skin” when suspended in his mini harness on the zipline, so it was up to Szumski to remove any traces of that slackness across the pig’s usually taut belly.

Szumski and fellow Click 3X VFX artist Liz Berndt also were asked to help on a POV shot in “Luge” where viewers take Maxwell’s perspective and look down on his rounded belly and little trotters moving with the action of the luge. “The puppeteers found that they spent a lot of time on the set re-rigging Maxwell’s legs to make them look natural, but it wasn’t quite there,” Kiser recalled. “The agency asked what we could do in post. We had moving plates and no clean backgrounds, but Mark and Liz went in and reanimated the legs – a pretty big task.”

Maxwell’s signature pinwheels are always shot as props, but often required reshooting and compositing by Click 3X to make them pop. For “Zipline,” Click 3X shot the pinwheels separately against blackscreen in their studio to match the angles of the live-action photography. Szumski then composited the new pinwheels back in so their motion blur wouldn’t get lost at certain angles. In “Luge,” he rotoscoped each pinwheel to make sure they were readable during Maxwell’s speedy run.

Szumski says he uses everything in his Autodesk Flame “to make the spots work really well. I’ve done a lot of talking animals, and there’s always a great amount of retouching to be done to make them not look manipulated or cartoony. Flame has plenty of tools to manipulate textures and make expressions completely believable.”

Click 3X producer Rob Meyers noted that from his perspective the Maxwell spots have been incredibly seamless projects. “The Martin Agency has a solid-core team available to us, and they’re very dialed in to Geico’s needs so we’re able to put together an effective workflow,” he said. “They even pushed up the airdate for ‘Luge.’ They were so excited about it that they wanted to make it a Super Bowl spot.”

Streaks of light encircle the cap of a real Olay Regenerist bottle in a new spot featuring VFX by Ntropic.

Ntropic

Ntropic Gives Olay Regenerist a Beauty Treatment

With visual effects part of just about every commercial on television these days, it’s refreshing to discover that live-action VFX solutions play a major role in new spots for Geico, Olay and Toyota, and a promo for Showtime’s hit series House of Lies.

Commercials for beauty products inevitably use beauty to sell their concoctions. A pair of elegant spots for Olay Regenerist from Saatchi and Saatchi/NY, “Unprecedented Demand” and “Think Again,” were turnkeyed by the New York City office of Ntropic (www.ntropic.com).

Ntropic’s Steve Zourntos (left) and Nate Robinson on set for the live-action shoot for Olay Regenerist.

Although creative director and Flame artist Steve Zourntos only recently joined Ntropic, he’s been working on the Olay account for three years. But these commercials marked the first time he’s been able to combine his own postproduction experience on Olay spots with the production expertise of Ntropic’s Nate Robinson to provide a full-service approach with “one overarching creative vision.” He and Robinson co-directed the package.

Olay Regenerist already had a defined look and a color palette of red and black from its previous broadcast campaigns. “The idea was to freshen things up a bit,” said Zourntos. “They run five or six spots a year; they want the brand to be recognizable, but also want to take it to the next level.”

For these commercials Ntropic decided on a live-action solution that captured the product and the model spokesperson. Zourntos worked closely with Tabletop Director Mario Godlewski to ensure that what he needed to craft complex images of products, people and bold graphical elements – light flares, swirling streaks, refractions and reflections – was captured in camera. In multiple passes on Flame, Zourntos wrapped streaks around a bottle cap, showcased the model against light flares, floated the Regenerist bottle on the crest of another streak and used more motion graphics to underscore supers highlighting the product’s attributes.

“It was the first time I worked that way,” he recalls, “but it’s similar to combining different passes in CG. Nothing you see was shot in one take. It’s all motion passes – high and low lights, flares – combined into a finished element.”

Zourntos notes that the agency strove for a “natural look” for the spots, “not something that looked like 3D. So we decided to shoot everything live – and take advantage of some of the happy accidents you get on set – and manipulate elements in post.”

Ntropic’s Tico Jones and Tali Oliver did pre-vis in Adobe After Effects, combining “beautiful style frames” with motion tests that proved “instrumental” in the company being awarded the job, says Zourntos.

For the tabletop shoot, Godlewski was armed with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II HDSLR to capture interesting refractions and reflections created when he shone an “unbelievably strong laser beam” through different materials, including a glass cylinder, which scattered the light, Zourntos says. The laser also generated color rays, some of which were used in their natural state and some color corrected to better fit the brand’s red and black palette.

Godlewski also used the Canon 5D to shoot single exposures of the product. “He gave me 5K material. It was very new to me working at that unbelievable resolution,” Zourntos said. “The shots were so large that I could blow them up, tilt down on them and they looked like whole new shots.”

The model was photographed on a different set with similar lighting to connect her world and the product/motion graphics world. “By lighting the set to match with our motion graphics elements we were able to rotoscope things and keep the model in the same world,” Zourntos explained. For “Unprecedented Demand,” a wallpaper-style background showing the names and cities of actual customers was created in 2 1/2D with Autodesk Flame. During the shoot, Robinson did a dolly move on the camera so Zourntos could track the wall of names into Flame’s 3D camera as if the type treatment had been a set piece.

“Think Again” followed the same process, but features the model speaking lines of dialogue as she explains how it’s possible to reduce the look of wrinkles after just one use. Stills illustrating the product demo section of the spot were supplied.

Zourntos also created the new end logo for the spots. In Flame he combined multiple arcs of light to produce the curves of the letter ‘O,’ then enhanced the motion of the bold graphic circles.

Toyota’s Prius family of vehicles fits perfectly in an ecoparadise created by Zoic Studios.

Zoic

Zoic Takes Z.E.U.S. to Automotive Paradise

Although Zoic Studios’ Z.E.U.S. technology has been used for lots of episodic television work, it made its commercial debut recently with “Kingdom,” a national spot for Toyota Prius from InterTrend Communications/Long Beach, Calif., targeted to the Asian-American market.

Z.E.U.S. is a pre-vis process that combines the benefits of realtime compositing with an integrated editorial and CG pipeline. Revolutionizing the approach to visual effects, Z.E.U.S. provides realtime camera tracking and rendering of virtual environments on set, offering unprecedented creative flexibility for the cast and crew working on the greenscreen stage. The technology is used on the TV series Once Upon a Time and Pan Am.

top] An actual Prius V was shot on the Universal Virtual Stage and composited into
a CG landscape created by Zoic Studios.
[bottom] The real Prius V is viewed from behind driving through Zoic’s CG ecoparadise.

In “Kingdom,” the voiceover explains how, in nature, every species must evolve to survive – and sometimes a species comes along that does more than survive: It creates a legacy. A family hiking through a field of wildflowers – mountains and a waterfall in the distance – spots a fleet of Prius vehicles as the cars make a rare stop at a refueling pump. As the family moves closer to investigate, the commercial highlights the features of the spacious Prius V wagon before it drives away with its fellow Prius models.

Toyota already had a print campaign showing the vehicles in this “otherworldly ecoparadise,” says Andrew Orloff, one of the founders of Culver City, Calif.’s Zoic (www.zoicstudios.com), who acts as creative director for episodics as well as all Z.E.U.S. projects. “They wanted to turn the print illustration into a 3D environment. We discussed various ways to accomplish that, including using a practical environment and real elements, but for the amount of work that needed to be done we decided that a virtual environment would give us the most freedom for the right kind of camera moves and sweeping crane shots.”

Concept drawings expanded the print art to a 360∫ world with trees, flowers, mountain ranges, a waterfall, and a refueling station. Then 3D models and textures were built as assets for the virtual shoot.

Zoic needed to modify Z.E.U.S. to realize the vision of the agency and Director Rob Feng of Rival Pictures/LFP. The system’s witness camera typically mounts above the ARRI ALEXA camera and requires direct line-of-sight to a tracking array in the ceiling for data capture. But car beauty lighting involves large reflective silks above the set and would obscure Z.E.U.S.’s ceiling markers.

So Zoic incorporated an encoded Telescopic LLC Techno Jib on the greenscreen stage prior to the shoot day. This proved invaluable for capturing accurate, realtime tracking data, while also helping the crew to move efficiently through multiple set ups of the four Prius vehicles and talent.

“In all our virtual production experience for TV, we noticed that one of the missing components was the virtual equivalent of a tech scout to prepare for the shoot,” Orloff said. So Zoic developed a realtime Apple iPad app that “allows a magic window into the virtual set so you can do the work or a tech scout and walk through the virtual set in realtime and change camera angles. You can spin things, move through them, change lenses and take measurements then save the images for storyboarding. It’s a great tool for advertising because it’s so interactive – the agency and client can see what they’re going to get without having to take you on faith.”

The Prius vehicles and talent were shot on the Universal Virtual Stage (UVS-1) at Universal Studios, a facility that Zoic helped develop, with Z.E.U.S. generating live composites for each camera take using the Lightcraft system, an integral component of the pipeline. “It’s a game changer for cars driving and people moving in an environment,” Orloff reports. “Without seeing the final composite, it would be very hard to direct the talent. But with Z.E.U.S. you know every tree and bush and can plan your camera moves and shoot as if you were on location.”

Shun Imaizumi, model and texture artist at Zoic Studios, working on an environment asset for “Kingdom.”

“Kingdom” required very fluid, sweeping camera moves, he notes, which would have meant placing lots of tracking markers on location and recreating the camera moves after the fact. “Z.E.U.S. took the ARRI ALEXA’s data stream that told us where it was in space at any given moment and translated it into a 3D background, stored it and brought it back to post where we could sync it to picture and add the 3D assets,” Orloff said. The process “maximizes their creative time and minimizes the routine so you get many more bites of the apple in the same limited turnaround time.”

Production complete, Zoic imported the pre-composited footage and Senior Editor Dmitri Gueer cut the spot with the director. Special attention was paid to finessing the speed and scale of each Prius vehicle and choreographing the four models, which were sometimes driven in separate takes because of the size of the stage. Once the EDL was generated, Zoic reconciled tracking data with the greenscreen footage through time code. This gave CG artists the ability to reestablish the camera’s position in the final version of the virtual environment.

Every aspect of the ecoparadise terrain was modeled in Autodesk Maya and rendered using Chaos Group’s V-Ray. Zoic did a lot of R&D to produce the right kind of grass for the extensive field shown in the spot. It repurposed 3D software previously used to render fur or hair to create the virtual grass.

Director Rob Feng watching realtime rendered playback with Zoic’s Z.E.U.S. system on set for Toyota’s “Kingdom.”

The Prius vehicles are never fully CG in the spot. “We were always working with new Prius models” on the greenscreen stage, said Orloff, “but we had 3D models so we could create realistic reflections of the environment [on the sheet metal]. Combined with beauty lighting, that helped to integrate the cars into the virtual environment.”

The Foundry’s Nuke proved a particularly flexible tool for rendering out passes, notes Orloff. “Special scripts in Nuke allow you to combine passes into a beauty pass and dial in changes in the composite,” he said. “Consistency is the key: to make everything look as if it was shot at the same time on the same day in the same environment.” Kronos, The Foundry’s retiming software, helped match editorial pacing. Doug Ludwig led the visual effects team with Steve Meyer overseeing Autodesk Flame compositing and 3D supervision by Andy Wilkoff and Mike Kirylo. Chris Jones was co-creative director.

Orloff expects Z.E.U.S. to find its way onto more commercial projects. “The beauty of Z.E.U.S. is that every time we use it we integrate a new piece of equipment, so we’re able to carry it forward to make the next project better.”

House of Lies star Don Cheadle tosses playing cards to camera in a VFX shot from a promo created by Hello Robot.

Hello Robot

Hello Robot Stops Time for House of Lies

Just as live action played a primary or significant role in the Geico, Olay and Toyota spots, the stunning promo for Showtime’s hit series House of Lies relies largely on an in-camera solution for its VFX.

Global player Hello Robot (www.hellorobot.tv), a visual design and storytelling company headquartered in Mumbai, India with satellite production offices in New Delhi and Dallas via L.A.-based film and commercial production company Three (One) O, stopped time in the House of Lies promo capturing the show’s five stars in frozen moment vignettes. The piece literally stopped traffic in New York City’s Times Square, too, where it ran on a giant screen, turning heads of drivers and pedestrians alike.

Showtime approached Hello Robot co-founder Amit Gupta to help conceive the promo, direct the L.A. shoot and guide it through an international VFX and post process in about a two-month timeframe. House of Lies explores the lives of a group of management consultants who will stop at nothing to make deals; it stars Don Cheadle, Kristen Bell, Dawn Olivieri, Ben Schwartz and Josh Lawson.

The promo catches the cast in frozen moments, the camera encircling each of them in 360∫ space as paper money flies through the air, pills spill out of a bottle, phone messages flutter to the ground and tossed playing cards hover in space. Sound bites of dialogue accompany the characters’ vignettes as the music track rises to a crescendo. The end tag, featuring all five stars in an ensemble shot, describes the new show as “Big Fish. Big Pond. Big Business.”

“The promo’s VFX were a huge challenge,” says Gupta. “Flat VFX are one thing, but VFX in a 360∫ world where they are blended with the live environment is something else.”

Gupta shot the show’s stars individually in their set pieces – to accommodate their busy schedules – in an L.A. studio. DP Ray Peshke and camera operator Chris Bottoms manned RED Digital Cinema’s RED EPIC camera shooting at 50 fps to ensure that the movements of the dolly, traveling around the actors against the studio’s black background, were smooth and the transitions easy. “This also helped with frame blending and gave us more information to work with if problems occurred,” said Gupta.

Since the dolly was set up so Peshke could encircle the actors, all lights and props had to be rigged carefully so the overlap was minimal in the 360∫ world.

Some of the VFX were props rigged on set by Hollywood’s West FX. “Anything that had human interaction had to be held or rigged,” Gupta explained. “Some of the props closest to camera had to be rigged as well, since the illusion would be given away if it was all built in 3D.” Even one pill was rigged spilling out of its bottle and suspended in space. “Yes, that was tiny!” he recalls.

Gupta ended up shooting an array of textures to map onto the flurry of cards, papers and pills that fly to camera and were replicated in CGI. “We shot the props suspended against blue – both sides of them, from multiple perspectives,” he said.

A spilling coffee mug is suspended in space and time in the Showtime promo for House of Lies created by Hello Robot.

Hello Robot’s Mumbai office handled the 3D animation using Autodesk Maya. “It was especially challenging to create photoreal props that would match the ones shot in real 3D space on the set,” said Gupta. “The textures were pulled into Maya and used in the compositing process.” The Dallas office performed the complex composites with Adobe After Effects and eyeon’s Fusion. “There was a ton of wire and rig removal and painting clothing back on,” he noted. “The cleanups took three weeks.”

The final full-cast sequence also was composited from individual shots of the stars, which were rehearsed with stand-ins as placeholders for their colleagues. No motion control was required.

Hello Robot’s high-profile debut in the U.S. market with the House of Lies promo extended to a cross-platform interactive campaign on the web and iPad. Although Gupta is a firm believer in what he calls “the power of post,” he likes to follow the mantra of “shoot as much as you can: every element, every texture. Once you have all the plates and the layers, what you can do from there is amazing. But if you start with nothing, you end up with nothing.”

Gupta added, “Maybe many of us are automatically thinking ‘digital and 3D’ these days when live-action, in-camera effects can still be a very good solution!”